Chapter 603: The Battle of Susanoo!
"...All of Creation?"
Orochimaru's pupils rapidly shrank, his expression changing.
"What did you say?!" He stared fixedly at Black Zetsu, his words unexpectedly carrying a hint of tension. "Speak clearly!"
Black Zetsu, however, merely smiled and shook his head.
"Comprehend it well, Orochimaru. You are a smart person; you can understand my words!" As he spoke, he unexpectedly began to slowly sink into the dirt. "I said it before, you will absolutely be satisfied with what we offer!"
"This small hint is our sincerity... If you wish to know more, that will depend on your choice!"
"I will give you some time to verify it. Consider it slowly, Orochimaru. I hope that the next time we meet, you can give me a satisfactory answer!"
"Farewell—"
With that said, he disappeared underground.
Under the moonlight, the crack in the soil healed. The earth lay perfectly flat and intact, as if it had never split open, leaving not the slightest trace.
In the clearing, only Orochimaru was left, his expression fluctuating.
He stared at the spot where Black Zetsu had departed, thinking, and remained silent for a long time.
After a long while, he finally turned and left.
A moment later.
Inside one of Orochimaru's bases.
"Suigetsu, I have a mission for you." In the secret room, Orochimaru's expression flickered under the candlelight as he spoke slowly. "Starting tomorrow, go and spread a rumor. Say that members of Akatsuki have been appearing nearby, seemingly wanting to contact Orochimaru."
The youth carrying the Executioner's Blade glanced at him. Leaning lazily against the wall and picking his teeth with a senbon, he said: "Orochimaru, this kind of mission... isn't it usually Kabuto who arranges these things? Go ask him. I'm too lazy to do work where there's no one to chop!"
Orochimaru's face darkened. He shot a piercing glare at Suigetsu and asked with seething killing intent:
"Are you going or not?"
In an instant, the temperature in the secret room seemed to drop below the freezing point.
The youth shuddered, his entire body trembling for a moment, and he quickly stood up straight: "Understood, I'll go, I'll go!"
He shrank his neck, hastily put away his sword, and turned to head out the door, but was stopped again by Orochimaru:
"Wait a moment!"
"Ensure you act in secret. Do not expose your identity, and do not... tell Kabuto."
Suigetsu froze for a second: "Yes... Yes! I understand."
Over the following days, rumors such as "Orochimaru has appeared near the Land of Sound" and "Orochimaru met with a mysterious person" indeed spread around the Land of Sound.
And these rumors, just as Orochimaru had anticipated, were noticed by Konoha, prompting them to dispatch an elite team to reconnoiter.
Muddying the waters and then fishing in troubled waters—this was exactly Orochimaru's calculated plan.
On his own, he had no way to contend with the ferocious monster that was Akatsuki. However, introducing Konoha as a variable gave him the space to maneuver.
Everything seemed to be entirely under his control.
The only miscalculation Orochimaru made was underestimating the combat power Konoha had dispatched—
Sakura Uchiha and Sasuke!
One was an Uchiha youth who had awakened the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
The other was a Super Kage-level ninja who had inherited eighty percent of the original's combat power!
Hey, hey, isn't this way out of bounds!?
If possible, Orochimaru hoped everyone would stop the fighting and killing and coexist peacefully, ideally sitting down for a cup of tea to chat about life... Don't blame Orochimaru for being cowardly and not acting like a boss; he genuinely did not dare provoke a woman who could fight Pain head-on and still be alive and kicking!
What kind of immortal deity or monstrous demon could face the Rinnegan head-on?
According to rumors, the aftermath of that battle turned dozens of miles of surrounding ocean into a forbidden zone for life for several weeks...
It was said that even a hundred miles away from the battlefield, one could clearly sense the massive explosion that occurred!
What kind of majestic power was that.
What kind of terrifying existence was that!
Right now, Orochimaru had only one thought regarding this kind of woman: respectfully keep his distance.
Therefore, even if he suspected that Sakura Uchiha was not the original, Orochimaru did not dare to gamble—moreover, even if she wasn't the original, he still couldn't defeat her!
Hence, Orochimaru completely lacked any thought of using force against the two intruders; he was merely trying his best to stall them with words.
Who would have known that Sasuke completely ignored all of that, directly activating his Susanoo and blasting right at him!
Such an attack naturally could not do anything to Orochimaru.
However, when the smoke and dust dispersed and Orochimaru's jutsu was revealed before Sakura and Sasuke, both of them couldn't help but be greatly shocked.
What appeared before them was astonishingly a turquoise-green, magnificent giant standing dozens of meters tall! It stood tall upon the earth, its body as massive as a mountain peak, radiating a vigorous and boundless aura that changed the color of the wind and clouds, not inferior in the slightest to Sasuke's purple giant!
"Susanoo?"
Sasuke Uchiha's eyes widened, staring intently at the turquoise-green giant before him, and only after a long while did he squeeze these words out from between his teeth.
"It seems so."
Sakura Uchiha looked at Orochimaru standing high atop the giant's head. The latter's pair of amber vertical pupils had, at some unknown point, transformed into the red-and-black pattern of a Mangekyo Sharingan: it was a pattern composed of a large solid circle accompanied by three protruding, symmetrical sharp points on its circumference.
An unfamiliar Mangekyo Sharingan.
Orochimaru... unexpectedly possessed a Mangekyo Sharingan as well!
Her elegant brows furrowed slightly as she felt the situation becoming thorny.
A Mangekyo Sharingan with unknown abilities was not a big deal. The key was Orochimaru's attitude in using it without any hesitation... Perhaps this wasn't even Orochimaru's most important trump card!
In that case, what other surprises could Orochimaru give her?
"Interesting!"
Sakura Uchiha began to feel that this mission presented a bit of a challenge. The initial surprise, along with feelings of annoyance that the situation had gone beyond her control, briefly surfaced in her mind before quickly vanishing without a trace. Without needing any self-adjustment, she naturally cast off the various negative emotions and instead grew slightly excited.
This was probably because she inherited the original's temperament.
The massive chakra, similarly inherited from the original, also became exceptionally active along with its master's slightly excited mood.
It stirred restlessly, surging and pouring out in a vast, mighty torrent.
In mid-air, the ethereal chakra condensed to the extreme, turning from illusory to tangible, coagulating into bones, flesh, and armor, and finally transforming into an indomitable giant that propped up the heavens and stood upon the earth!
The chakra giants created by Sasuke and Orochimaru were already comparable to mountains and possessed a majestic presence spanning the rainbow, but the same jutsu executed by Sakura's hands proved to be even more formidable! It could be seen that hers was taller and sturdier, incomparably solid, wielding a massive spiral greatsword and bearing a pair of wings that blotted out the sky and covered the sun. The sheer intensity of its might was almost capable of swallowing mountains and rivers!
"Mangekyo Secret Jutsu - Susanoo!"
Sakura Uchiha stood atop the even taller Susanoo's head, looking down at Orochimaru, her cherry lips curling up slightly.
Below her, Sasuke's face showed slight gloominess, having a premonition that the rare opportunity to battle a strong enemy had been snatched away.
Not far away, Orochimaru wore a solemn expression, his smile looking somewhat strained.
Standing beside Orochimaru, Kabuto forced a calm expression, though a hint of anxiety could faintly be seen.
Three indomitable giants stood tall upon the earth, instantly making the entire valley appear cramped and congested.
"Hmph... Haruno Sakura, I do not recall you possessing Uchiha bloodline either!" During the standoff, Orochimaru let out a muffled snort, delivering a cold, sarcastic remark.
He was no longer hung up on the question of whether the young girl before him was the original Haruno Sakura.
"The feeling is mutual," Sakura Uchiha retorted calmly. "You've coveted Sasuke's body for so many years, so how did you end up choosing the transplantation method that you looked down upon the most? Also, where did you get this pair of Sharingan from?"
Orochimaru sneered: "This is all thanks to you people protecting Sasuke so well, leaving me no choice but to change my mind... I always believed that a non-Uchiha body could not properly adapt to the power of the Sharingan, but looking at it now, it's just that the brat Kakashi is far too much of a failure. As long as one masters Yin Release, a transplanted Sharingan can also fully unleash the Sharingan's power!"
Orochimaru had always thought that only a pure Uchiha bloodline could unleash the true power of the Sharingan, and that transplanting the Sharingan was taking a detour. However, when he was forced to give up on Sasuke and adopt the method of transplanting the Sharingan, he discovered that sometimes taking a detour was actually the right path. Yin Release was the foundation of the Sharingan, and the Uchiha bloodline was merely a shortcut to help control it!
"As for where the Sharingan came from... I thought that after taking out Danzo, you people wouldn't ask this kind of question anymore!"
"Wait! Are you saying... you were the one who helped make that right arm of Danzo's?" Sasuke suddenly interjected.
Orochimaru maintained his wicked smile: "That's right, it was merely one of our collaborative projects. I have a subordinate with a special constitution named Shin. He doesn't have any rejection reactions to any tissues transplanted into his body, including the Sharingan, making him a fantastic experimental material! It just so happened that Danzo had many pairs of Sharingan on hand, all specially collected on the day of your clan's extermination. Although quite a few were wasted, our experiments quickly achieved success!"
The clan members who died tragically on the Night of the Extermination couldn't even find peace in death, being used as experimental materials by Danzo and Orochimaru?
Anger surging upwards, Sasuke clenched his silver teeth tightly, his face flushing crimson.
Forcefully suppressing his rage, he asked again, "That subordinate of yours, Shin, where is he?"
Orochimaru looked at Sasuke with amusement.
Judging from his face, Sasuke's emotions were already on the verge of exploding.
He was indeed provoked, Orochimaru mused inwardly. Sasuke's capacity for endurance was even worse than Haruno Sakura's, let alone comparing him to Itachi.
Then let's add some more fuel to the fire.
An opponent who has lost his reason would not only be unable to display his strongest power but would also hinder the companion beside him!
Thus, while sending a secret signal to Kabuto behind him, he smiled with increasing provocation: "Hehe... Now that is a precious experimental material! Unfortunately, he is still of use to me—"
"You're asking for death!"
Upon hearing the words "experimental material," Sasuke's eyes were completely red, and he manipulated his Susanoo to attack furiously!
Orochimaru's smile instantly vanished. He fiercely drew up a breath of chakra and met the attack head-on. The two giants instantly became engaged in a chaotic brawl!
Boom boom boom—!
In an instant, mountain rocks shattered, the earth cracked, violent winds howled furiously, and sound waves echoed like thunder!
On the other side, Sakura Uchiha stood by and watched with folded arms, unexpectedly showing no intention of joining the battlefield.
The young girl stood aside, quietly observing the battle situation while pondering silently in her heart.
Sasuke was being a bit impulsive... He was deliberately provoked by Orochimaru. Oh well, let him fight to his heart's content. A sparring partner of this level is a rare opportunity. Having a desperate fight like this with Orochimaru will benefit him endlessly!
But Orochimaru... what exactly are you plotting? You don't think that after defeating Sasuke, you could then defeat me too, do you?
What other trump cards do you have that could let you turn the tables?
Kabuto? What role could you possibly play in a battle of this caliber?
For a moment, she actually couldn't sort out her thoughts.
Forget it. After letting her thoughts run wild for a long time, Sakura still couldn't arrive at an answer, so she simply stopped thinking about it.
Regardless of whatever schemes and tricks he has, in the face of absolute power, it's all just a joke!